My Time at Fuel PR International | Fuel PR

When I was contacted with the offer to intern at Fuel, I freaked out. I thought, this is gonna be a disaster, what was I thinking? My first internship cannot be in a foreign country. I want to crawl into a hole! With the persistence of my family and friends to push my boundaries, —because let’s be honest, I needed it—I accepted the offer.

Cut to the week of my interview (i.e. the same week I arrived in London) and I was once again a nervous wreck. I was so afraid of the English. I had no idea what their customs were and I just knew they’d think I was that American. Nothing could ease the dread coursing through my gut.

The day of my interview I, of course, got lost. Thankfully, I’d left waaaay too early and still arrived 15 minutes before. That helped nothing. I was frazzled. After I’d tried—and failed—to gather myself in the staircase for five minutes, I went in. The interview was 10 minutes, tops. Nadia probably asked me two questions. I should’ve known then that I would have nothing to worry about. Naturally, that didn’t click.

Once I started, I realized Brits are much more laidback than Americans. Now, that doesn’t mean you’re not expected to put your best foot forward. It means you’re given the freedom to figure things out on your own. Fortunately, my supervisor and co-workers always made sure I could ask for help. I’m sure they could smell the anxiety permeating the air around me, but they never let me know.

Fuel PR not only challenged me but gave me a great deal of confidence especially when speaking to people over the phone. In six short weeks, I was given the opportunity to work on a number of iconic brands such as Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula and Keurig. During that time, I completed a number of tasks for each PR programme, which ranged from speaking to the media, selling in news worthy stories and creating media alerts. In addition, I learnt different ways to report back to the client including preparing coverage cuttings, evaluations and media snapshots. I also had the opportunity to learn the basics of Photoshop from Fuel’s resident Social Media guru!

My key learning from the internship and my time at Fuel PR International- I discovered that although I’m introverted, there’s a place for me in public relations. I will be forever grateful to Fuel.

Eliana

For more information or job opportunities please get in touch with Leandra Cardozo at Fuel PR (Leandra@fuelrefuel.com)